


Please Stop Dying

by genericfanatic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fix It Fic, M/M, at least i made you a good guy, its fine, making a different character die for the emotional moment, sorry iverson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 17:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15645714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genericfanatic/pseuds/genericfanatic
Summary: In which Iverson decides to lead the defense instead of Adam.Fix it Fic where Adam lives but I still kill someone.





	Please Stop Dying

**Author's Note:**

> I just....it makes more sense! Iverson is someone we knew before! And it still has the emotional punch without all the queerbaiting!!
> 
> I really do like season 7 I hope this isn't something thats like, contributing to the negativity around it, I just....I wanted to think of a better way for it to go so I can properly enjoy the season.
> 
> EDIT: I've gone back to fix some mistakes. This is why you read things over before you publish them. Oops.

“Iverson, you will follow protocol!”

“No!” Holt said, “You’ll just get them all killed! The jets aren’t prepared--”

“The CADETS aren’t prepared!” Sanda yelled back, “Iverson, you will follow my orders this minute!”

Iverson looked between the both of them weighing his options. He made no secret he agreed with Holt. He was in charge of the jet fighters, trained each and every one of them. He never sent them into any missions lightly, and never if he weren’t at least somewhat confident of success. That’s why he didn’t want to send Shirogane in the first place, not out of some stubbornness, but to keep him safe. He blamed himself when the Kerberos mission presumably failed.

On the other hand, Sanda was his commanding officer. He was a soldier, no ifs ands or buts, and didn’t take orders from his commanding officer lightly either. Disobeying was not only mutiny, it was stupid. Sanda could strip him of rank and order the flyers to go herself, and what would he have accomplished but making it just so he didn’t have to pull the trigger. 

“I’ll send them out,” He said, through gritted teeth, “But I lead the squadron.”

“What? That’s absurd!” 

“Iverson, no, you can’t!” 

Well, it looked like Sanda and Holt agreed on SOMETHING at least. “They’re my pilots. I’m not going to ask them to do something I’m not willing to do myself.” 

“I need you here!” Sanda said, “You are under MY command, I need you at base to organize the attack!” 

“Walsh!” Iverson called back. Adam Walsh stepped up, the usual jet pilot leader. “It’s about time you got a promotion, don’t you think?”

“Sir?” Walsh asked, screwing his eyebrows up, confused.

Iverson stripped the bars off his own uniform and handed them over to Adam. “Congratulations, son. You’ll be organizing the attack under Sanda. You’ll probably do a better job than I could anyway.”

Walsh gaped first at him, then Holt and Sanda behind him. “Sir, I can’t possibly--”

“You can, and you will,” He said, “It’s an order, Walsh. Understood?”

Walsh swallowed, gripping the bars tight. “Yes sir.”

Iverson nodded, and headed out to the jets. Holt grabbed his shoulder before he could make it out the door. “Iverson,” he said, voice getting lost, “This is suicide.”

Iverson almost chuckled. He recalled saying something similar to Sam about the Kerberos mission. “When you see Shirogane again, let him know I’m sorry about the kidnapping thing. Hopefully he understands.”

 

“Of course I understand,” Shiro said, looking at the wall of fallen soldiers, “He was following orders, like any soldier would.”

“He died a hero,” Adam said, leaning against the wall of the honored, “You know, even though he was in charge of covering up what happened, no one fought harder to try and rescue you. He even came up with simulations to take cadets out there, see if there was any way we could get you back.”

Shiro took a breath. “Well, if I’d have listened to him, none of this would have happened in the first place.” He looked over to Adam, trying to meet his eyes. “If I had listened to you.”

Adam shifted, his strict military posture failing as he looked at his feet. “Yeah, but then you wouldn’t have like, saved the universe or whatever. That seems pretty important.”

Shiro shrugged. “It wouldn’t have come to Earth though.”

“Yes it would, and you know it,” Adam said, “If you hadn’t gotten the blue lion out of here when you did, the Galra would have taken it, and then this would just be another planet under their control, with no Voltron to free it. Stop trying to turn this into some guilt trip,” He sighed. “Besides, you didn’t die, and you came back. So. It all worked out.”

Shiro tried not to choke at the words ‘you didn’t die.’ He wasn’t sure how to break that particular escapade to Adam, and decided, maybe it was just best not to. “I came back,” He agreed with that part at least, “And, despite my memory being essentially a bag of swiss cheese, if memory serves, you said if I come back, you wouldn’t be here.”

Adam bit his tongue, turning away, “block.”

“What?”

“BLOCK of swiss cheese,” Adam said, “That’s the stuff with the holes in them. You wouldn’t get a ‘bag’ of swiss cheese.”

“I would if it’s sliced!” Shiro countered with a smirk, successfully making Adam’s mouth twitch up and eyes roll. “But you’re avoiding my point.”

“And what was your point?” Adam asked, mask of seriousness back on as he rolled his head back Shiro’s way.

“The point is,” Shiro said, daring to take a step closer, “You’re here.”

Adam swallowed, the apple of his throat bobbing. “You know, I said I MIGHT not be here,” he corrected Shiro’s memory, “And just because I’m here physically doesn’t mean…”

“Adam,” Shiro said, tilting his head to the side, “Look, it’s been a long time, for both of us. We’ve both gone through a lot, so I’m not expecting anything, but--I just want to say, I miss you.”

Adam closed his eyes, like Shiro had actually hit him with his words. He took several stuttered breaths, echoing in the empty hall. “I--” he started to say, but he swallowed the words. He was trying to phrase things, Shiro could tell. Ever a diplomat, he never wanted to say the wrong thing. “I can’t. Not now.” He shook his head, looking at his feet again, not willing to see the affect his words would have, “The planet’s being occupied by aliens, I’ve ordered most of the people on this wall to their death,” he nodded at the wall behind him, “And I’m pretty sure I’m not qualified for this and--”

“It’s ok,” Shiro said, “Really, I get it. It’s not a good time.”

“We just--” Adam continued on, holding back tears well enough he’d probably trick anyone who didn’t know him as well as Shiro, “We would need to talk, and it’d be a thing, and figuring things out right now….I just can’t.”

“I know,” Shiro said, “Believe me, I...I know stress,” He weaved a hand through his white hair, earning another snort. “If we all, you know, survive this,” Shiro said, motioning to the Garrison and world around them, “You think, maybe we could talk? Just talk. No promises, no--no declarations, just talk?”

Adam bit the inside of his lip the way Shiro had often told him not to do, for fear of drawing blood. He had apparently gotten back in the bad habit. “Just talk. IF we don’t die.”

Shiro smirked, “Well, now that I have something to look forward to, I’ll make sure to stay alive.”

Adam’s lips twitched up again. Before Shiro could think of something else to say, Adam had wrapped him up in a hug. Shiro blinked unsure what was happening as Adam squeezed tighter. “I’m glad you’re back.”

Shiro relaxed, hugging him back. “Me too.”

 

“We have to take this ship down!” Shiro shouted over the Atlas’ bridge crew.

“We can’t from out here,” Coran said, in his hilariously mis-sized cadet uniform. It wasn’t really designed for grown adults, “We would need to get inside the ship to destroy it’s energy crystal!” 

Shiro looked at the various schematics, analyzing the best plan. “I’ll do it,” He said to himself, then nodded and said it more confidently to the crew, “I’ll do it. I know Galra ships, I’ll go on board and sabotage them from the inside.” 

“Captain!” Veronica said, adapting to Shiro’s new title a little too comfortably for Shiro’s taste, “That ship’s CRAWLING with Galra and Sentries! If you don’t make it--” Her eyes traveled for just the briefest moments over to Adam who was staring up at him, face going through an alarming array of emotions. 

Shiro tore his gaze back to Veronica. “Then I’ll just have to make it.” He nodded to all of them, “Good luck to you all. Coran, you have the ship.”

“Roger that,” Coran said, saluting him. 

Shiro turned around to head out, but paused at the voice behind him, “I’m going too!” Adam said, jumping out of his chair. “To make sure you make it back.”

Shiro opened his mouth to argue, but Adam frowned, daring him to say ‘you should stay behind.’ He sighed, motioning for Adam to follow. Adam ran behind, and in seconds, it was like they were in sync with one another once again. 

 

Adam whistled low, “So this is what the inside of these things looks like,” He said as they snuck through the Galra hallways.

“Now, follow me closely,” Shiro whispered back, “The sentries have a very specific pattern to their movements. We have to move fast.” 

Adam nodded. They stood at the door, listening for the sentries to pass. Shiro counted in his head. “Now,” he said, and he led himself through the doorway, Adam hot on his heels. They froze at the next hiding spot, adrenaline pumping through their veins. “Now,” Shiro repeated, going along.

At the next hall, Shiro course corrected, avoiding a galra soldier who was coming their way, grabbing Adam’s hand to pull him into a weapons closet.

It was so cliche, it was every stupid movie all happening at once as they waited, practically nose to nose, listening for when the guards were past. Shiro tried to back away, giving Adam as much room as possible, but Adam didn’t get the memo, lining up against him, head tilted perfectly upward to look at Shiro. They still had their helmets on, creating a barrier, but it didn’t stop their eyes meeting. 

“They’re gone,” Adam whispered. 

Shiro nodded, breaking his trance, and taking Adam’s hand in his own once again, “Come on.” 

 

“Whoa,” Adam said, when they finally arrived, hands still intertwined though neither mentioned it, “THAT’S a Balmera crystal?”

“Improperly mined, yes,” Shiro said, “Coran, we’ve reached the crystal how do I destroy it?”

“Well, this is going to sound a bit odd,” Coran said, “But I’m going to have to uplinkto your brain and then divert the energy through your nerve system down to your arm.” 

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Adam asked back.

“Only a little!” Coran said, like it was some sort of comfort, “Really the only risk is somehow overloading his memory and disconnecting his limited hold of his consciousness to his body.”

“His WHAT to his WHAT?” 

“Adam, it’s fine,” Shiro said, “It’s not like it’s the first time.” 

“It’s not WHAT?”

“Coran!” Shiro said, putting his hand on the crystal, “Download the uplink.” Adam was frowning in that way of he really wanted to yell but knew it wasn’t the right time. “You, uh, might want to step back.”

Shiro’s arm started glowing as Adam retreated, a solid beam of energy shooting out and lighting the giant purple crystal. 

The beam grew hot, the sound coming from it raising in ominous pitch. Shiro felt his socket burning, but held on, flinching back, but not letting go. 

Finally, the first crack formed. He pushed forward, and the crack expanded, growing like a wildfire until it shattered, blowing him back. 

“Shiro!” Adam said, rushing forward. He turned Shiro’s head to the side, his helmet having been forced off of him. “Shiro, come on, say something! Shiro!”

He slapped at Shiro’s face trying to wake him, over and over, until finally Shiro flinched, his eyes peeking open “You know,” he murmured, “This is why you failed basic triage.”

Adam sighed, bending over Shiro on the ground as though he was about to fall asleep on top of him. “You have got to stop dying.”

“So they keep telling me,” Shiro said, trying to push himself up. 

Adam quickly helped, grabbing him beneath the arm to support him. “Geez, did you gain weight in space?”

“It’s muscle build!” Shiro shot out, defensively, “and, you know, the robot arm.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Adam said, lugging him out of the room and up to their escape hatch. 

The wind from being outside of an actual spaceship blew through Shiro’s hair, nearly knocking Adam off his feet. Shiro was thankfully taking more and more of his weight on his own, climbing up to the surface.

“I should have known it was you,” an all-too familiar voice said, getting both their attention. Adam had only seen him in videos, and Shiro hadn't seen him in ages, but there was no mistaking Sendak when he was right before them. 

Shiro snarled, “Adam, you need to get to the Atlas.”

“It’s too far,” Adam said, “I’ll help you.”

“No, trust me,” Shiro said, “Trust me, I know a trick I learned from Allura,” 

“What trick?” Adam asked as Shiro grabbed his uniform with his robot hand, “Shiro, what are you doing?! Shiro!”

Shiro launched Adam in the direction of the Atlas, mostly depending on Adam’s ability to keep himself steady with his rockets. Sendak reached out to intercept him in the air, but Shiro charged at him, getting the focus turned back on himself. 

He was testing his own strength against Sendak’s giant arm when a communication flickered in his ear, “IF YOU DIE OUT THERE I’LL KILL YOU, TAKASHI SHIROGANE!”

He sighed to himself, “Some things never change,” and he went back to his fight. 

 

Shiro smiled over the audience of friends and allies, terrestrian and alien alike. They cheered for his message of hope, and he smiled and nodded to them all, stepping down as the somber music of the Garrison played in honor of the fallen. 

“Nice speech,” Adam said, intercepting him outside the hall, “Short, sweet, but hopeful. All you need, really.”

Shiro smirked. He’d been wondering where Adam had hidden off to, but wasn’t going to criticize him for that now. “Glad you liked it.”

Adam smiled, no longer trying to hide it from Shiro, but not saying anything either, like he was waiting for something. “So,” Shiro said, “I know there’s still a lot of work, but the world isn’t under occupation anymore.”

“I had noticed that,” Adam said, smile not fading from his face.

“So,” Shiro continued, “I was just wondering, is it too soon to talk ye--”

He was cut off as Adam stepped very, very far into his personal space, wrapping his hands around Shiro’s neck and stopping his speech in it’s tracks. “We could talk,” Adam said, “If that’s what you really want. Or…”

“Or?” Shiro asked.

Adam shrugged, “Or…..we could not talk.”

“We’re going to have to talk,” Shiro said, his own hands wrapping around him, “I mean, there are still a lot of complications...the paladins are injured, there are Galrans still fighting across the galaxy, and aliens are coming every day as Earth becomes a base for the rebellion, and we….we’re caught in the middle of all of it.” 

Adam sighed, leaning his head against Shiro’s. “I know,” he said, “I know, and we’re going to have to deal with all of it, and more. Not to mention you still haven’t gotten out of telling me exactly what happened with your….clone? Did Keith say?”

“Damn that kid…” Shiro said, turning his head away, as though he were about to march down to the hospital and chew out his protegé right then and there. 

Adam turned his head back to face him, holding his chin in his hand, “But this is one of what I find to be very rare moments in life where we don’t have to worry about that. Not yet. And we’re probably not going to get too many more of them.”

“That is VERY true,” Shiro said, raising his eyebrows. 

“So, can’t we use it, just to exist for a little while?” Adam asked, “Not as soldiers or paladins or rebels or whatever else, but just to be Adam and Takashi? Just one more time?”

Now, how could Shiro help but smile at that. “Ok,” he said, a small whisper to the universe. “Ok,” he repeated, more confident, making the choice. 

Adam leaned up and captured his lips with his own, the both of them holding steady, only rocking very slightly back and forth as they got to know each other, both settling into the memory they held dear, and learning the new person they had each become.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! My tumblr is dork-empress


End file.
